Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
From the
bus station
( 63 427)
, three or four daily buses serve Vidin (5 lv, 1½ hours).
A 6am bus serves Sofia via Montana (16 lv, four hours). The three daily buses that serve
the train station, 9km away at Gara Oreshets (2 lv, 20 minutes), are timed to meet the
Sofia-bound train. Several daily trains from Gara Oreshets serve Vidin (5 lv, 30 minutes),
Vratsa (7 lv, 20 minutes) and Sofia (10 lv, 3½ hours).
A taxi from Belogradchik to Gara Oreshets train station costs 5 lv. For very early morn-
ing trains, taxis wait in front of the bus depot.
Vidin
094 / POP 48,000
Resting on a bend in the Danube in the far northwest of Bulgaria, Vidin feels a long way
from anywhere, and unless you're crossing into Romania, there's little obvious reason for
you to wend your way up here. The population has shrunk dramatically over the last dec-
ade or so, and it can appear forlorn and eerily deserted. Having said all that, Vidin does
enjoy some fine riverside views and its one major attraction, the majestic Baba Vida fort-
ress, is one of the best preserved in the country. The sprawling town square, pl Bdintsi,
one block northeast of the train station, features an enormous communist-era monument,
banks and shops.
Sights
Baba Vida Museum-Fortress
(adult/student 4/2 lv, combined ticket with Archaeological Museum 5 lv; 8.30am-5pm
Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm Sat & Sun)
About 1km north of the centre, overlooking the river,
the marvellously intact Baba Vida Museum-Fortress is largely a 17th-century Turkish up-
grade of 10th-century Bulgarian fortifications, which in turn were built upon the ruins of
the 3rd-century Roman fort of Bononia. There's little to see inside, but it's an atmospheric
place. Watch out for uncovered holes and the sheer drops from the top.
FORTRESS
Archaeological Museum
(ul Tsar Simeon Veliki 12; adult/student 4/2 lv, combined ticket with Baba-Vida fortress 5
lv; 9am-noon & 1.30-5.30pm Tue-Sat)
Inside the former Turkish prison, this little mu-
MUSEUM
